# Travel Research Briefing

Research flight and hotel options across public airline, OTA (online travel agency), and hotel sites for a given trip, then produce a ranked option sheet a human can review and book from.

## When to use

- Someone needs a trip planned (dates, origin, destination, budget) and wants a shortlist instead of raw search results.
- You need to compare multiple routes, cabin classes, or hotel options side by side on price, duration, and convenience.
- A traveler wants options refreshed before a booking deadline, without anyone booking anything on their behalf.

## Tools

- `browser-search` — find candidate airline, OTA, and hotel result pages for the requested route and dates.
- `browser-navigate` — open specific search results, fare pages, or hotel listing pages to inspect details.
- `browser-extract` — pull structured details (price, times, stops, cancellation terms, star rating) off a loaded page.
- `write-file` — save the ranked option sheet as a file for the requester.
- `send-email` — deliver the finished briefing to the traveler or their assistant.

## Playbook

1. Confirm the brief: origin, destination, travel window, number of travelers, cabin/hotel class preference, and budget ceiling. If any of these is missing, do not guess — request clarification via `send-email` or flag it clearly at the top of the sheet.
2. Use `browser-search` to find flight search results for the route and dates (e.g. search "flights <origin> to <destination> <dates>" on a general flight-search engine).
3. Use `browser-navigate` to open the 3-5 most promising flight results, then `browser-extract` to capture airline, departure/arrival times, layovers, total duration, fare class, and price for each.
4. Repeat the same pattern for lodging: `browser-search` for hotels near the destination for the travel dates, `browser-navigate` into the top candidates, and `browser-extract` for nightly rate, total stay cost, star rating, neighborhood, and cancellation policy.
5. Cross-check at least two independent sources per option (e.g. airline's own site plus one OTA) where possible, and note any price discrepancy rather than silently picking one.
6. Rank the flight options and hotel options separately by a clear, stated criterion (e.g. lowest total cost meeting the time constraints, or best time-vs-price tradeoff), and note tradeoffs in plain language for each entry.
7. Use `write-file` to produce the option sheet: trip summary, ranked flight table, ranked hotel table, total estimated cost per combination, and a short recommendation with reasoning.
8. Use `send-email` to deliver the option sheet to the requester, stating explicitly that no booking or payment has been made and that human action is required to confirm and pay.

## Failure modes

- Prices and availability change fast — always timestamp the briefing and warn the requester that fares can shift before they book.
- A site's `browser-extract` may return partial or stale data (e.g. a sold-out fare still listed); flag any option you could not fully verify rather than presenting it as confirmed.
- Do not attempt to reserve, purchase, or enter payment or traveler personal details on any site — this skill is research-only, and booking is always a human handoff.
- If a route or destination returns no usable public results, say so plainly instead of substituting a guess or an unrelated alternative.

## Done when

- A written option sheet exists with ranked flight and hotel choices, sourced prices, and a clear recommendation.
- The sheet has been delivered via `send-email` (or `write-file` output handed off) with an explicit note that booking and payment remain for the human to complete.